Justin Morneau, 1B, MIN (concussion) – Making progress, but no timetableVictor Martinez, C, BOS (thumb) – Took swings from both sides and did some catching Tuesday; may return without rehabDustin Pedroia, 2B, BOS (foot) – Hit before Tuesday's game, but still with the boot onBrett Anderson, SP, OAK (elbow) – Allowed four runs in five innings Tuesday in what may have been his final rehab outingJosh Beckett, SP, BOS (back) – Threw a 78-pitch bullpen session; on track for Friday returnDavid Freese, 3B, STL (ankle, toe) – New toe injury will keep him out until mid-AugustJamie Moyer, SP, PHI (elbow) – Placed on the DLErik Bedard, SP, SEA (shoulder) – Likely out for the yearConor Jackson, OF, OAK (hamstring) – Still at least a week away from rehabClay Condrey, RP, MIN (elbow) – Received platelet-rich plasma injection in hopes of playing again this yearBrett Hayes, C, FLA (wrist) – Placed on the DLDavid Eckstein, SS, SDG (calf) – Placed on the DLGeoff Blum, 3B, HOU (elbow) – Staples removed; could be back by end of the month

Transactions – Players that have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.

Closer Watch – A closer look at intriguing ninth-inning situations (check out Dave Regan's Closer Grid with the link to the left).

Arizona – Juan Gutierrez got the call in the first save situation of the Kirk Gibson era, Tuesday against the Mets. He gave up a homer to the first batter he faced, Angel Pagan, but retired the next three batters, striking out two, for his third save of the season. Gutierrez is the guy for the moment, and without any better options, Gibson may just ride with him through the rough patches to see if he can settle into the job.

Baltimore – Mike Gonzalez has returned, but that may not bring change to the O’s pen. Alfredo Simon threw 2.2 innings and David Hernandez threw two of his own in Tuesday’s extra-innings affair, and neither was needed in Wednesday’s game, but because of their extra workload, Gonzalez could get an opportunity Thursday. For now, though, Simon is the closer until Gonzalez takes the job.

San Francisco – Jeremy Affeldt picked up a rogue save because Brian Wilson had pitched four days in a row. There’s nothing to see here; just keep Affeldt’s name filed in case Wilson goes down.

Key Matchups - Spotlight on hitters and pitchers with favorable matchups against their opponent on a particular day (generally, individual matchups with fewer than 10 at-bats are not included). *Check Status

Cole Hamels v. Cardinals – Hamels has absolutely dominated these Cardinals to this point in his career. This group of hitters is just 19-for-98 (.194) against Hamels with a miserable .507 OPS and just four walks against 22 strikeouts. The vaunted Pujols-Holliday combo is 4-for-21 against him. The only sour note here is that Hamels has been a bit rough on the road this year, posting a 4.18 ERA and 1.51 WHIP away from the not-so-pitcher-friendly confines of Citizens Bank Park.

Adam Wainwright v. Phillies – Pitchers’ duel, anyone? Wainwright has held the Phillies to a mere .225/.290/.360 line in his career. His K:BB against them is an un-Wainwright-like 21:9, but six of those walks belong to Ryan Howard, and if that’s the price for keeping him in the park (and it works; see below), Cardinals fans and fantasy owners will gladly pay it.

Jered Weaver v. Rangers – Weaver – who has led the league in strikeouts for a while, which still seems to be a surprise – has done impressive work against the powerful Rangers hitters, limiting them to a .241/.285/.348 line. Only two Rangers (Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton) with 10 or more PA against him have averages exceeding .280, and he’s picked up 34 strikeouts against 11 walks. Note of caution: This year, the Rangers have scored seven runs off him over 11.2 innings spanning two starts.

Jorge De La Rosa v. Marlins – Every Marlins hitter with at least 10 plate appearances against De La Rosa has an extra-base hit off him except for Ronny Paulino (who’s 3-for-9 with a walk). Every Marlins hitter with at least 10 PA against De La Rosa except Wes Helms is hitting over .300 against him. All in all, he’s allowed the Fish to rack up a combined line of .326/.410/.500. That’s the bad news. The good news is that De La Rosa also has a promising 29:11 K:BB against those same hitters, so there’s probably some BABIP luck going on here. Indeed, subtract those strikeouts and these Marlins hitters have gone 28-for-57 (.491) against De La Rosa when they put the ball in play.

Kevin Millwood v. Twins – These Minnesota hitters have seen a lot of Millwood (197 PA) and have absolutely wrecked him. They have a combined .385/.464/.657 line against him, and although a good bit of that comes from the injured Justin Morneau (.364, 3 HR), everyone else in the order is doing his part as well – when you’ve got a combined 1.121 OPS against a pitcher, it’s not just one guy.

Bruce Chen v. Yankees – Chen has been surprisingly serviceable for the Royals so far this year, but things look like they’re gonna get ugly when he visits Yankee Stadium. When you’ve got a guy hitting almost .400 off you hitting in front of a guy who homers off you literally every other at-bat, trouble is coming. These Yankees have hit .324/.377/.658 against Chen, and they're gonna be in the bandbox they call home. Keep Chen stashed securely on your bench.

Recommended Pickup

Tommy Hunter, SP, Rangers – No, he doesn’t strike a lot of guys out. Yes, he pitches in Texas. But Hunter is now 7-0 after dismantling the Tigers on Tuesday (7 IP, 0 R, 3 H) and he’s rocking a 2.09 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. Production like that can’t be ignored in any format. The ride could end at any time, but for now, Hunter is red-hot – and, for a guy with his stats, much too widely unowned.